Ciao, Graci… That's all I got…

Bongiorno from Italy!

My name is Elizabeth. Its only my second full day in Paderno del Grappa, so I’m just going to take this time to introduce myself. I am a junior Business Administration and Sociology major from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. I grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. My family and I have done a lot of traveling in the past, from our many cruise adventures to my dad and I’s trip to Swaziland. However, this is the first time that I have gone abroad on my own and I am filled with nervous excitement!

The starting days of this adventure have been jammed pack with orientations, seminars, and classes. Here are five of the things that I have learned or experienced in my first forty-eight hours since arriving in Paderno:

1. Packing for this long of a trip is REALLY hard. I mean you have to pack for pretty much all four seasons. Yesterday it was beautifully hot, today it is raining, and eventually it will be in the forties. Now I am a complete over-packer. That I completely admit. I did firgure out, however; that it costs almost the same to pay for extra weight on your luggage as it does to just pay to bring a second bag. I knew I was going overweight, so I figured that I might as well be able to bring a little more.

2. There are a TON of mosquitos here in Italy. Everyone is bug bitten all over. I personally have them all around my neck.

3. They do not have air conditioning here. In response everyone leaves their windows open for a nice breeze.  Ergo more mosquitos.

4. The language barrier is a little difficult. I pretty much only know how to Ciao and Graci, which doesn’t get you very far. Haha. Hopefully these crash courses in Italian will pay off before we adventure too far off.

5. Even in the middle of nowhere, there are still some of the most beautiful places. We visited this cute little town yesterday called Possagno. It is home to the Canova Temple. It wasn’t the most happening place in the world, but it was definitely fun to walk around.

Well this is all I have for now. I can’t wait to tell you all about more of my hopefully amazing adventures as I travel through Europe!

Ciao, Elizabeth